HVAF BLOG
Check out our latest stories, events, and the best part of the job: our success stories.
July 31, 2019
Army veteran and former homeless vet Whitney Hamilton found July to be a monumental month. At age 63, he became a first-time homeowner! But this was not an easy journey for Whitney. When the addiction began “About 1985 … when the cocaine era was […]
June 28, 2019
In 1980, Autumn Rush enlisted in the United States Army as a medic. “I grew up in a town where there weren’t a lot of jobs available, and I didn’t go to college right out of high school,” Autumn said. “So I decided to […]
June 3, 2019
Here at HVAF, we cannot do what we do alone. Thankfully, we have several community partners such as VOA, Veterans Affairs, and the Gene B. Glick Company…. and together, we all were able to serve and house Marine veteran Michael Holliday. Find out more […]
May 6, 2019
In 1985, right after high school graduation, Pamela Coleman decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. She wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps, and be able to grow as a person. Pamela served for six years as a military police officer. She said her […]
April 17, 2019
When you picture downtown Indy, what do you see? Delicious restaurants? Hip music venues? Entertaining street performers? Monument Circle? What about any homeless camps- or as they are usually called, tent cities? All throughout downtown Indy, in places you would have no idea, homeless camps […]
March 29, 2019
In 1968, Troy Rivers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served for four years. When he got out of the military, he said he had zero guidance. This led him to getting mixed up with the wrong crowd. Several times throughout the years […]
February 28, 2019
In 1990, 17-year-old Antonio Johnson enlisted in the United States Navy soon after he graduated from high school. During his time in the Navy, he traveled around the world twice, served on two aircraft carriers, and supervised his fellow shipmates. After he got out of […]
January 31, 2019
In 1990, Jimmy Potts joined the United States Navy. Starting at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois for his training and education, Jimmy went on to serve for six years— being a part of Desert Shield and serving for eight months in Iraq for […]
November 30, 2018
It keeps getting better and better: this year, we were able to raise more than $37,000 at Operation Alpha. 5,000 more than last year! The evening was full of tasty cocktails, delicious food, live music, auction bidding and much more. “I am deeply grateful for the strong relationship […]
October 31, 2018
The Home Depot Foundation has continuously helped us over the last 11 years. Some of the projects include redoing our conference room and transforming our old bunk room to a well-functioning pantry for our outreach hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last week, the team came out […]
September 30, 2018
In 2011, Lianna Spencer enlisted in the United States Air Force. After serving for two years, Lianna got out and went back to her home in Arizona, where she went back to school and work. She also spent one year on the reservation taking care […]
August 31, 2018
After graduating from high school, Vincent decided he wanted to fight for our country, and he joined the United States Navy. “I wanted to do something better with my life,” he said. From 2007-2011, Vincent was in active duty. But due to missing his child’s […]
June 30, 2018
After returning from two years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Ray Lay began struggling with service-related mental health issues. Eventually these issues would lead to and be compounded by substance abuse, incarceration, and finally homelessness. Seeking a new start, Ray moved to Indianapolis at […]
May 31, 2018
As a way to carry out their motto “Service Above Self,” the Indianapolis Rotary Club packed backpacks for Indianapolis’ homeless veteran population. Last year, they packed 144 backpacks, and packed 180 this year! HVAF was also blessed to have Senator Joe Donnelly come to HVAF […]
May 31, 2018
Each year, on one cold night in January, representatives go out into their community and identify homeless individuals, providing a snapshot of the area’s homeless population. In 2017, 328 homeless veterans were identified. This year, that number dropped by 20 percent to 261. “This is […]
